Quick question re: preparing for the birth of lambs

[big brown horse]

Ok, so it seems that my ram lamb is in 'proper working order' and I may have another preggo ewe sheep. What do I need on hand, and why?

Thank you all in advance. (Can't log onto byh.)

 

[ksalvagno]

Iodine to dip navels. I'm really not sure what else since I birth goats and alpacas. If it is cold, maybe some towels to dry them off or a heat lamp in a stall or something. Good luck!

 

[big brown horse]

Ok, thanks so much! I have iodine already. Mild spring weather these days, so no need for a heat lamp.

What do you do with your new born goat kids?

 

[Rebbetzin]

Ok, thanks so much! I have iodine already. Mild spring weather these days, so no need for a heat lamp.

What do you do with your new born goat kids?

We keep the mom and baby/babies in a small cozy pen, sheltered from the elements and separated from the rest of the herd for the first few days. Mostly so they "bond" and to protect the new kids from the possibility being hurt from older kids who might be too playful with a newborn. It seems to work pretty good.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Towels, to dry them off if it is cold, we also had a heat lamp. I used betadine for the umbilical cords. Also Have some BoSe shots ready. We found we needed it. Luckily our feedstore guy also raises sheep, and he just fliled up a syringe that had enough for all of the lambs.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I usually only dip navels and let mom do the rest. I will bring them in if it's cold, and provide a heat lamp for the first few days.

Just a bit of advice for dipping navels...you do need to use 7% iodine. The other iodines (like betadine, surgical scrub, etc) just isn't strong enough. It's a fairly cheap way to make sure they don't get navel ill. Of course when we had our first lambs many years ago, we didn't know about dipping navels and they were fine, but I've seen navel ill in several lambs and it's not fun.

 

[ksalvagno]

For the goats I put them in kidding stalls so mom and kids can bond and also be protected from any possible attacks from the other goats. It is still cold here so I've got 2 heat lamps going for each kidding stall. My kids do also get a shot of BoSe the day after they are born. Mom gets her CDT and BoSe shot 4 weeks prior to kidding and then the kids get a shot of BoSe. Just seems to keep the kids really active and growing.

 

[miss_thenorth]

If sheep are deficient in I think, elenium, they can get what is called white muscle disease. one of our lambs showed signs of it, so we gave the BoSe shot.

 

[rebecca100]

So would you give the BoSe shot even if you are not in a selenium deficient area? The ewe I bought gave birth a couple of hours before I got her, so I know it hasn't had one. None of theirs had and the babies all seemed healthy.

 

[ksalvagno]

If you aren't in a selenium deficient area, then you don't have to do the BoSe shots.